


The Lights - A Remix

by turntechnologic



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Caves, F/M, Matches, SBURB, firearms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 03:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1842658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turntechnologic/pseuds/turntechnologic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave and Jade are on the hunt for frogs, and Dave is a pissbaby who can't take the cold. </p>
<p>I wrote <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/703762">The Lights</a> more than a year ago for my friend, and she is moving out of state. As a goodbye I have rewritten it, and it was cool to compare the two fics and see how much I've grown. I'm really going to miss her, but I'm confident we're both going to grow a lot more before we do get to meet again someday uvu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lights - A Remix

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Lights](https://archiveofourown.org/works/703762) by [turntechnologic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/turntechnologic/pseuds/turntechnologic). 



> For Eden.

You weren’t really a winter guy. Hats, boots, gloves- not really your thing. You grew up in Texas- what the hell did she expect? The average high was about eighty degrees, and you could recall maybe one time in your life when it dropped below sixty. Bro made you wear a sweater when you left for school that day, and you appreciated his foresight.

The Land of Frost and Frogs? Not for you. 

“Jade? Jade. I got a question for ya.”

Ahead of you, the bouncing form of a young lady paying you no mind is a sight you’re very familiar with. Her hair was flying out in every direction as she gracefully picked her way down a slope covered in loose rocks, and you sullenly wished her feet would slide out from under her, and you maybe even snorted a little to yourself as you envisioned Jade with a face full of snow. Wouldn’t that be funny?

“What do you want, Dave?” She asked as she slung her rifle off her back and stuck the butt into a mound of snow so she could lean on it. You just shrugged some, eyebrows drawn together for the moment as you followed her lead and scuttled down the hill maybe not as gracefully as you would have liked to. She waited patiently, though, as you collected yourself and tugged your hat a little further down to cover your ears. They were red because of the cold, duh.

“Just wondering if you have a nut allergy. I just thought I should tell you that my scrotum has retreated so far into my body for warmth that I am in danger of puking it, and I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t die like I would. One of us has to come out of this alive.”

She pulled a face in front of you, and you watched with mild amusement as the bridge of her nose wrinkled up. She was cute when she was disgusted.

In all honesty, though. It was cold as balls, and you were about ready to call it a day.

“That’s gross, Dave. And it sounds really painful!”

“I’m sure it’s gonna be. What even are we doing out here anyway?” 

“I told you, silly, we’re looking for frogs!”

You sighed to yourself quietly and scratched your head through your thick hat. Why you had to come along to catch some gross slimy amphibious creatures was beyond you, but when she smiled at you like that you couldn’t really help but follow along. That, and, she picked her rifle back up.

“I’m sure we’re getting close to them! I can almost hear some!”

“Those aren’t frogs, Jade, it’s the sound of my blood slowly turning to ice and my joints freezing. Jack Frost is nipping at my nose, but he feasted on my toes for an appetizer. They’re gone. I lost them two miles back, I think I’m gonna go look for them.”

With that, you turned around and set your face into some kind of a determined looking expression as you eyed the intimidating looking pile of rocks you’d only just managed to scale down, even in the loosest of terms. You were only able to get a couple feet up the slope before Jade spoke up again.

“Where do you think you’re going, mister! I need your help with these frogs!”

“I’m sure you’ve got a hand on it, Jade, really, I don’t think I- shit!”

Before you could even finish your sentence your feet were slipping out from underneath you, and you went down hard and landed with your face in the mound of snow where the butt of her rifle had been just moments before.

Now, you usually considered yourself one cool kid. This, however, was cooler than cool. It was ice cold, alright?

Behind you, Jade’s light giggle rang through the air as her rifle fell off her shoulder and landed in the snow much like you had, and you could feel the blood in your ears rush back to life as you scrambled to your feet and clawed at the white powder that was melting on top of your beet-red face.

“Dave! That was great, did you plan that? Hehe, that kind of looked fun, snow is so soft!”

“Oh yeah, Jade, it’s hella fun. Snow is just the softest shit, you know? It’s not like it isn’t almost ice or anything.”

Jade was still laughing as she looked at you, and you really wished your ears would stop burning, you couldn’t tell if this was a sign of frostbite or embarrassment, and you weren’t sure which one was worse. You were about to try and salvage your cool one last time when you saw the bright green in Jade’s eyes shift off your face and over your shoulder, and before you could even take another breath she was leaping over to your side.

“Dave! Dave look up there! It’s a cave!” She said as she bounced some and tugged at your arm, and you stumbled a few feet after her as she pulled you in that direction. “Come on, come on! We have to go exploring!”

“Jade, I’m not looking in- no, where are you going?” God, this girl was giving you whiplash- one moment she was standing there laughing and the next she was scaling the side of a fucking mountain? Sure, it didn’t look too far off the ground, but enough was enough.

All you wanted was to go back to your own land and maybe fry your toes in the lava to thaw your blood. It’d be nice if it was a liquid again.

You trudged to the foot of the cliff and looked anywhere but up as Jade’s skirt whipped around in the wind, and she looked down at you once she made it to the mouth of the cave.

“You aren’t scared, are you? That’s not very cool of you, mister cool kid.” She asked, looking down and sticking out her tongue.

“Alright, that’s it. The gloves are off now, I’m coming up there.”

Jade only smiled as she darted away and deeper into the cave, and you clenched your teeth as you focused on holding a sure grip on the frigid rocks beneath your fingers. Maybe you should have kept your gloves on.

Eventually you managed to drag yourself up the ten or so feet to the mouth of the cave. Jade was nowhere to be seen, probably balls deep inside the damn thing as you sat down petulantly where it was well lit and not scary, thanks very much. Little snippets of her laughter echoed back towards you and after a few moments of indecisive internal debating, you inched a little further into the cave. No use getting crushed by an avalanche when her voice managed to knock all that snow above you loose.

“It’s alright, I’ll wait out here and keep watch. For the frogs.”

What seemed like ten minutes later, you watched as a dark form bounded closer to you from what you could only address as the throat of the cave. You scrambled to your feet, taking a stance as you felt your heart jump to your throat, but Jade nearly took you down all the same.

“Dave! Dave you just have to come in and see this!” She said excitedly as she tugged on your coat sleeves and pointed wildly into the deep and dark cavern, and you could feel your face crumpling even more when you noticed how determined her grip on your clothes was. You weren’t getting off this damn planet alive.

“Fine, fine, just- go slowly, please? I don’t want a face full of rock too, thanks.” 

Jade laughed as she dropped her fingers some and laced them between yours, and you could feel your ears doing that dumb burning thing yet again as she beamed brighter than a sun beside you, and you nodded your head to signal her to move.

Jade took it slow, just like you asked. She was careful to point out flat rocks you couldn’t see, perilous edges that you really wish you hadn’t, and all the sharp turns and corners that you had no idea how she could remember, especially in the dark. 

“Here we are!” She said, clapping her hands as you winced when the sharp sound echoed through the cave, and from the sound of it you were in a large cavern somewhere deep within the bowels of the damn thing. Your stomach pitched and rolled some, but you quelled the feeling as you blinked a few times and pursed your lips.

“Wow. It’s uh. Real swell. I like the color, black is always good.”

  
“No, silly, that’s not what I wanted to show you! Here, look!” Jade fumbled in her clothes for a moment after she dropped your hand, and before you could even think to try and be curious the unmistakable sound of a match striking pulled your mind right out of the gutter as the soft light caught the end of the little match.

You took in a sharp breath and felt your eyes widen.

The walls were lined with small, miniature crystals. They caught the small little flickering light from the match and danced them across the room, illuminating every corner in a soft glow that refracted and bent and bounced across each new one.

Jade passed you the book of matches, and you struck another just before hers went out. Even the slightest shift of your hand would scatter the light around the both of you, and in all this time you hadn’t even been able to take a proper breath.

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?” She said, all quiet excitement and soft awe. You found yourself nodding, your head turning to face her as she moved to lean some against your side.

“Yeah. Yeah it is.”

Jade smiled and took the matches back, and when you passed them to her your fingers touched. That little spark was enough to make you forget about the chill that had seeped into your bones, and when she leaned up to kiss you, you shivered for a completely different reason.

**Author's Note:**

> Eden, I'm really glad I got a chance to know you. It's going to be rough without you, but I think we're all going to stay strong. 
> 
> Good luck, and I love you.


End file.
